Holi's War: A tale of the Age of Expansion
by Auditioning Minion
Summary: All grown up, Holi is a Guardian Marine sworn to bring the Empress' Justice wherever she goes. Previously thriving colonies at the edge of the Empire are being found abandoned and Holi, Astrid and Flynn are among the teams sent to investigate. The colony holds a surprise which sets Holi and her team on a journey into uncharted territory that will see her destiny unfold before her.
1. Chapter 1

Holi – Queen Bitch Guardian Station, training room.

Wiping the sweat from her eyes, Holi helped her brother up from the mat. They bowed and took their stances. "You'll get me this time Lolly" she laughed, giving her not-so-little brother the stinkeye. It had been a good life since the Queen Bitch had rescued her and Lolly from certain death.

A dispossessed Kurtherian named Harmartea had used her home as a lab to create super-soldiers. Her lack of ethics set her apart even from the Seven, who found her methods crude and distasteful. She had offered the rulers of this world a carrot and a stick. Bring her the poor and receive her bounty, or serve her needs themselves. The aristocracy knelt to their new goddess and began the work of contaminating the peasants and yeomen on their lands with the nanocytes she had created.

The nanocytes mutated; instead of an invincible army the peasantry was transformed into slavering, flesh-hungry mis-engineered monsters. When word made it to the Empire of a planet overrun with green-eyed zombies, Bethany Anne had come to investigate the possible Kurtherian outbreak.

Unfortunately Harmartea escaped as the children were being rescued, leaving the Empress pissed as hell. The moment she had assumed guardianship for the children in the name of the Empire, she blew Castellegia into shards as a message to any who would allow such atrocities in the future. She did not lift a finger to help the Castellegian aristocrats.

They died screaming.

If Holi had known what popcorn was back then she would have had a bowl ready and waiting for the show. Some might think that extreme but Holi had lived through the horror. She had suffered immensely because they had failed to protect her and so many others.

It had taken a long time to come to terms with all she had endured. She felt she would be at peace when she found Harmartea and kicked her ass across the galaxy and back but like any good Guardian Marine, she would settle for stopping any bastard who used lives like a commodity to be spent without a second thought.

OO-fucking-rah.

She watched Lolly, reading the micro twitches shouting his next move. The time in the pod doc had done him well, clearing his lungs of the disease that had afflicted him as an orphan child and tweaking his genetics for good health. Still, Holi had years of training and experience on him.

Lolly lashed out with a flying front kick. Holi down-blocked and used her momentum to give an open palm thrust to Lolly's chest before using ashi-barai to put him down on the mat yet again.

"I knew Karate Kid was a bad choice for movie night!" he groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Sweeping the leg is a dick move sis, only the baddie does it!"

Holi chuckled, "Like the General always says, brother dear, the only fair fight...?"

"Is one you lose" He concluded with a rueful smile. "OK, let's go again."

"Luckily for you little bro, I'm needed elsewhere and I need to eat first. I'll leave you in the capable hands of this lovely gentleman here." She nodded at the approaching PT instructor. "Whoops, I think he heard your potty mouth. I see many press-ups in your future..."

With a wave in the direction of the instructor and a tippy-toe kiss on her brother's head she bowed to the floor and made her way to the showers.


	2. Chapter 2

Lower Deck

After cleaning up, Holi walked the corridors of the station on her way to the mess hall thinking of the day she met her destiny.

She had known damn well how dangerous it was to leave the shelter of their abandoned building so close to dusk but Lolly's cough was so bad she had feared for his life. The sickly green eyes had appeared from the shadows as she gathered the plants she needed to make the tincture the tiny child needed to ease his stricken lungs.

The moment she fled was the catalyst which changed Holi's life forever. She was lucky to make it back to a lit area, even luckier that the Queen Bitch herself had been there with Her Own when she stumbled out of the dark passage she had been fleeing down. Bethany Anne had swept her up, along with Lolly, Pip and all the other surviving children in the infected zones and taken them to the QBBS Meredith Reynolds.

Holi was forever grateful to Bethany Anne, who had explained what a parent was and given her a second chance for life and a new family in Astrid and Flynn. Holi's devotion gave her the determination to repay the Queen for the lives of her and her family and put everything into her studies and training. Her acceptance to the Etheric Academy had given her the opportunity to excel.

Inspired by stories of the first Alpha Class, the three had busted their guts to qualify for a spot on the current team. They had graduated with honours and many, many good memories before she and her two closest friends enlisted together. As a Guardian she had travelled the Empire as it expanded, bringing peace, or the Queen's justice to those who needed it. It was a good life, with purpose and Holi appreciated every day of it.


	3. Chapter 3

Main Mess Hall

The mess was loud, packed with fellow Guardians, support staff and family members. Holi scanned the room whilst walking to the food line, trying to see the flash of red that would give away the location of her best friends and team members. She spotted them, along with the rest of Salvation unit over the crowd, they were all full of energy and it showed as the men and women chatted animatedly. They were due to be briefed on their deployment a little later that day and the marines were excited.

Loaded up with steak and veggies she made her way over to the table where Astrid and Flynn were waving stupidly to her.

"How's it hanging Holi-moley? Still not bothering to cook your meat?" Astrid was of Scandinavian descent, her parents a product of the baby boom jokingly titled Generation 'E' that occurred almost immediately after TQB's Exodus from Earth.

Every child that grew up on the Meredith Reynolds grew up with the stories of how TQB left Earth and the fun game of creative cursing was legendary among them, new words being added as fast as Frank Kurns could type them.

Second generation Astrid had the mouth of a sailor and the heart of a valkyrie _._ Even without enhancement she was incredibly tall, 6"5 of sculpted, tattooed muscle. She wore her burnished dark red hair in traditional Norse braids and her heart on her sleeve. Further down, a nice selection of shiny hand-axes discouraged roving eyes.

"It's better than steak the consistency of old combat boots. How many days is it gonna take you to chew on that?" Flynn chipped in. His soft jibe was just the way he communicated, his inner cat manifested in his very feline personality. He rarely spoke to anyone apart from the two women and his close-knit family.

"You would say that!" Astrid hammered in her point with a punch to the were's arm. "Cats love raw meat. There's practically no genetic difference between humans and Cavallegians so Holi's love for meat that's still mooing is gross, bleugh!"

Holi laughed and _really_ enjoyed her delicious, juicy, rare steak while Astrid made sicky faces at her. This conversation had been going on since their Academy days. Unmentionable shenanigans had ensued from day one with every Alpha Class since the inauguration of the Etheric Academy and Holi, Astrid and Flynn's class had been no different.

Bobcat _still_ gave Holi the stinkeye when she passed him in the corridor. You blow up a few hundred barrels of beer _one time!_

The three had also bonded over their shared love of the media streams ADAM had 'liberated' as TQB left Earth. They all knew early on that stationary jobs weren't for them. They wanted adventure, to see the galaxy and fight injustice in the Empress' name. They were the ones who took the names after the Empress and her court had finished kicking ass. The Guardian Marines was the only calling for the three of them.

"Where goo fink ee're going gis chime?" Flynn asked the two women through a mouthful of spaghetti. "Hopefully somewhere someone left us some scraps" retorted Astrid.

"You just wanna fight," Holi accused half mockingly, pointing her fork at Astrid. "Again. Even if we don't need to! I think it will either be border patrol or a diplomatic handshaking thing with us in the back. It's been quiet around here lately."

"Buzzkill!" This earned him a punch in the arm from Holi as they stood to take their empty trays to the clean-up line.

"Anyway, we might get to do something exciting; didn't you hear about the ghost colonies?"


	4. Chapter 4

Auditorium/Large meeting room

The briefing room was a smaller version of the auditorium on the QBBS Meredith Reynolds. As this was a multi-unit debriefing the table in the middle had been prepared for the brass to sit along one side, facing half of the tiered seating where the Guardians were sat in their units.

The room vibrated with anticipation, a susurrus washing over the men and women in waves as they waited for their commanding officers to appear. Scuttlebutt had it there was a problem at the edges of the Empire, reports from the Metlaxtran and Klin'tzo systems of sudden ghost towns where there had previously been thriving trading and mining communities. It was deeply concerning and Holi hoped with all her heart they were being sent to find out what was going on.

Hush descended as the main door opened and a group of officers filed in. Holi wasn't the only one to react when The General Himself strode across the room and took the centre seat to rising whispers of speculation.

Holi shushed her teammates and gave General Reynolds her rapt attention as he motioned with his hands for silence.

"Quiet down Guardians. You may have heard the rumours of missing citizens at our borders. They are not rumours. Three and a half thousand civilians have disappeared from their homes with no trace. What the kidnappers intend to do with them we do not know. What we do know is that WE ARE GOING TO GET THEM BACK!"

The General paused for a beat, he knew the marine spirit well. They filled his pause with a massive, "OORAH!"

"The majority of you will be putting on a show of strength in the border systems. Salvation and Mercy will perform seek and rescue for the missing people."

Holi's heart soared at the news that her unit was one of the two chosen. Astrid and Flynn were elbowing her, she snapped back to what the General was saying.

"... Mercy and Salvation report for in-depth briefing prior to transport, the rest of you get to the armoury and requisition your ops gear on your way to the hangar. Now, Guardians. Before I dismiss you all I have something to say.

The Guardian Marines are the finest fighting force in the Galaxy, save the Queen's Own. This will be a difficult mission for some but I have every faith you will kick the collective asses of any ill-intentioned sons-of-slimeballs that enter our space - with extreme prejudice!

We will PROTECT OUR PEOPLE!

The purpose of a Guardian is to defend those who cannot defend themselves. You have fought to be the best of the best because Our Queen ONLY sends the best of the best out to do her good work.

You are the line between all that is good and just and honest and the evil scum that would destroy the sanctity of peace for their own ends. You are the defenders of the needy, the weak and the enslaved. Guardians do not quit, they do not fail and they DO NOT STAND FOR INJUSTICE! And on that note, GUARDIANS, FALL OUT!"

The room erupted in a frenzy of cheers, whistles and shouts; applause for the General echoing around the room as the Guardians swept out of the auditorium and on towards Justice.


	5. Chapter 5

Spec Ops Armoury: Bottom Deck

The briefing had been simple. The two units would split up into the traditional one shifter: two humanoid teams that made the Guardians so formidable. Each team would be assigned a long-ranging pod and set out with the rest of the border defences.

As the fleet reached their rendezvous point, Salvation's teams would leave covertly to scope out Metlaxtran and Mercy would head for Klin'tzo to do the same. On arrival they were to search for evidence pointing to where the missing civilians had vanished. First team to get eyes on the missing people would send word to the others and back to the fleet protecting the borders.

Once they had enough information a plan could be formed to rescue the missing and get them back home. Holi couldn't leave soon enough and the sentiment was shared by all the teams waiting. It wasn't long before the armoury doors opened. The defence forces had grown rapidly as the empire expanded, new recruits flooding in from every planet and system all desperate to give their thanks for the changes their Empress had wrought. Many had been former slaves and fervently wished to help free others from bondage and tyranny.

The corridor was buzzing with the Guardians' chatter, the teams mixed up, gathered in knots as they discussed the upcoming mission. The door slid open, revealing a head of bouncy brown curls and a dazzling smile.

"Come and get it girls and boys!" The sunny face of Quartermaster Linda Gutierrez beamed out at the assembled Guardians. "Two straight lines, chip-chop! Let's get you all loaded for bear and on your way!" She indicated with her hands and two lines formed. The staff sergeants held out thumb scanners and as each marine swiped the machine, the crate with their ops gear was delivered by the automated system.

The issue of providing smart-armour for so many different sizes and species, as well as the extra requirements of the Wechselbalg and Sacred Clan had been somewhat of a logistical nightmare for Jean Dukes' team. Each marine needed bespoke armour which included fittings, fabrication and more fittings along with genetic sequencing to access weapons and smart features. There were not enough hours in the day! The shifters also needed to fit both forms into theirs or the nanite-infused armour would be useless to them. Her head had not stopped hurting and she hadn't seen John for more than a minute in weeks and _everyone_ knew she was pissed off.

That was before. One day she had been sitting in All Guns Blazing bitching loudly about how overworked she and her teams were when a throwaway comment from Marcus had solved the problem. He had asked why they couldn't use 3-D printers and medical scans to reduce the time it took to create the armour. He had been fiddling with one; improving the range of materials and accuracy, would she like to see? She would, and did. Then she dragged Marcus to Bethany Anne and respectfully demanded she do something about this shit.

Six months later, the Guardian satellite station reached completion. The new centre of operations, recruiting and training was a dream come true for the frazzled teams who had been pouring blood, sweat and tears to get their warriors outfitted. The top decks were dedicated to living; family and single residential units, communal eating, entertainment and activity areas. The mid-levels were reserved for training with specialised workout areas set around the station's auditorium/briefing room.

The lower decks were the inspiration that had brought the station into existence. The suite with the altered pod-docs which took the requisite DNA samples and measured each recruit daily, to ensure the smart-armour fit perfectly. The massive deck dedicated to printing armour, guns and more 3-D printers to ensure that supply did not grow larger than demand in the rapidly expanding empire.

The maintenance system, which logged damage and sent the crated armour to the appropriate repair station on the lower levels within minutes of the crate being returned, or back to storage if all was well. Each and every set was now monitored 24/7 by the system's dedicated E.I.

The desk sergeants were sweating with the exertion of lugging the heavy crates from the delivery ports to the counters as they arrived from storage.

"Way to go Reynolds, really thinking of our backs when this was designed," A perspiring sergeant at the desk made the mistake of muttering loud enough to be heard. "Why the ports couldn't be in the counter I don't know." The military AI Reynolds had been instrumental in the planning of the specialised Guardian station.

"I can always find something a bit more physical for you to do if this is too easy?" The QM trilled sweetly over the hubbub.

The sergeant quickly looked busy "No Ma'am! Thank You Ma'am! Plenty to do here Ma'am!" Gutierrez was known to worship at the altar of Saint Payback and anyone doing a sloppy job on her watch was likely to be found doing an even sloppier one when she had them reassigned to duty on the station's septic tanks. The admonishment had the desired effect as the hapless sergeant picked up the pace.

"That's more like it Simmons. Let's get our brave and good-looking Guardians on their merry way!"

The lines moved quickly after that. The men and women of Salvation and Mercy left the armoury and made their way down to transport carrying their crates without breaking a sweat.


	6. Chapter 6

Holi: Salvation 4 Transport Pod, leaving Yollin Space

"Fuck yeah!" Astrid was obviously pleased to be back out on mission. "What you said." Flynn gave a thumbs-up and closed his eyes, determined to get some kip while they were on the move.

They would be travelling for a good few hours and the E.I., Koios had the nav handled. He was settled in and snoring gently within minutes. Holi and Astrid never slept in these situations, they preferred to discuss the coming mission and plan for when, not if, the shit hit the fan.

"The last time we were in a newly liberated territory we nearly cacked everything because you didn't read the packet _or_ listen to me Astrid. No getting slappy with religious icons this time, I mean it!" She laughed at the glare Astrid threw her way.

"How was I supposed to know that lemon-faced nightmare was blessing me? Who the fuck spits in someone's face as a blessing? Isn't it your job to make sure these things don't happen?" Astrid was scowling at the memory of her faux-pas. They were extremely lucky that Astrid's reaction was also seen as an expression of reverence in the strange culture of the world they were visiting.

"Well the Graibians, that's who. If you'd read the packet you would have known. Let's see what they have for us."

She swiped the tab on her screen. This was where Holi excelled. She could take any given information and sift through the data to build a clear picture of the place she'd be visiting. Just a few lines were often enough, which was a good thing because in this case a few lines was all she had. Some tour brochures, trade records for the region and census reports from the last 15 years.

"Wow. It's pretty bare. This is a mining region; the star is too hot to host life anywhere near the centre. It's less planetary and more like gigantic ore-laden asteroids with settlements around them. The colonists trade the ores they mine for the goods they need and host tours of their settlements. Astrid's eyebrow went up at this.

"People paid to come out here on vaycay? You're shitting me! Why?"

"There's always been something about the edges for humans. The wild expanse, adventure around every corner. Hell, this Empire was founded on quick thinking and hard labour.

Isn't that how your family ended up in the Empire? They wanted more from life than Earth was offering, so they threw their lot in with Bethany Anne in the Exodus.

Successful colonies often share their knowledge with others preparing for frontier life. They take in arrivals that are acclimating to the new environment, keep them alive until they can do it for themselves then they do the same once their own settlement is stable. It's all part of the strategy for a strong Empire along with providing colony ships to large groups which double as the starting base to grow from once they've reached their new home. These are the communities who feed the Empire; farmers and ranchers just working hard to support the rest of us out here."

They're all innocent but the worst thing is that the settlers had a little population boom shortly after the colony was founded."

"Oi oi" Astrid chipped in with a wink and a wolf-whistle. Then her face dropped as she realised. "Shit, they took the kids too? Fuckers! We'll get them back though, eh?"

"We will, or we'll die trying and take as many of the bastards who took them with us as we can." These were dark words for Holi, Astrid did a double-take at her usually pacifist friend.

Wrinkling her nose in thought, she patted Holi's shoulder in sympathy.

"This must be really hard for you Holi."

"It does make me think of my life BBA. Those kids must be so scared, especially if they've seen their parents killed."

"BBA? Oh, Before Bethany Anne. You were so fucking lucky she was on the trail of that sicko Kurtherian scuzz-bucket.

Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if that pus-filled gob-nobber had chosen a different planet to make her defective army on?" Astrid asked, quite gently for her. Holi was used to her bluntness and knew her friend was checking on her.

"I used to. Before you and Flynn came into my life I was sometimes lonely. I'd remember my master and mistress before they changed and it would make me sad. I mean, I had my foster parents, and Lolly and Pip but I didn't have a real friend. I've grown so much since then and I'd never swap this awesome life for the servility that I was born into. No matter how kind they were before the infection. I'm glad I'm here with you guys and not dragging a plough or scrubbing a wrinkly old back for my dinner if that's what you mean?"

The two women basked in the comfort of their shared bonds. The next few hours were spent reminiscing and preparing for the task ahead. Flynn joined them a couple of hours later. When Koios notified them of their approaching destination, they began preparing for the mission ahead.


	7. Chapter 7

Salvation 4 Pod: Entering Metlaxtran Colony

The pod approached the planetoid belt at the very edge of the system's habitable zone. Holi spoke to their E.I.

"Koios slow us down please, and scan the entire area for anything that could help us."

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND DEAR HEART. SLOWING APPROACH SPEED NOW AND BEGINNING SCANS OF THE AREA

Koios was a descendant of Ranger Tabitha's A.I. Her issues with Anachronix's personality had been a standing joke even before he gained full sentience to go with his habit of 'misunderstanding' requests. Just not to Tabitha's face.

Koios was a strange fish. He had a sarcastic manner and a very dry sense of humour. His peculiar way of using humour was sometimes off the mark but he was a vital component of the team; not just a computer program designed to be useful but a learning entity capable of his own thoughts.

He had been assigned to work with the team after choosing to accompany the Guardians as a part of his education and development and become attached to the three in a way he had trouble processing. After consulting the A.I. 'family heads' it was decided that he would be officially assigned to the group that had accepted him so thoroughly he had advanced so quickly.

Holi, Astrid and Flynn had wondered if their close friendships and constant banter were the cause of the snark and fierce loyalty that were developing as the cornerstones of his nascent personality. Either way, they enjoyed his jokes, accepted his quirks and treated him like one of their own, the inorganic member of their team.

THERE ARE THIRTY-SEVEN HUMANOID LIFE-SIGNS BELOW. ZAT IS GOOD, JA? THE SURVIVORS ARE GATHERED IN AND AROUND THE SETTLEMENT'S LARGEST BUILDING. I AM ATTEMPTING COMMUNICATIONS BUT THERE IS NO REPLY. THERE ARE ALSO SCATTERED RADIATION TRAILS LEADING OUT FROM THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SYSTEM, INDICATING THE PATHS THE INVADERS TOOK. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN HELP WITH, OH WISE AND MIGHTY GUARDIANS?

Astrid raised her middle finger in the general direction of the pod's ceiling. "How about chowing down on this ye cheeky gobshite?" she cackled. "Otherwise, just keep a sensor or two out for us while we head down to speak to the remaining settlers. You wouldn't want to get shot in the arse now, would you good buddy? The invaders might have left rear scouts to make sure they weren't followed. Off you toodle now."

YES MY MOST BENEFICIENT MASTER. OFF I TOODLE. HOW DO YOU TOODLE AGAIN? IS IT LIKE THIS?

A long, wet-sounding raspberry came from the speakers and the four laughed together as they made their way down to the almost-abandoned settlement.

On landing, Holi was surprised to see that the settlement had not been ravaged. This was unexpected. It would take more than a few weeks to get a place like this back to its down-home prettiness after an attack that wiped out over ninety percent of the population. There were no corpses, the buildings were intact. There were even sheets hung on laundry lines in nearby gardens, albeit stiff and dusty ones.

It was hot and the three were sweating as they cast about the packed dirt streets that made up the town's square, searching for the surviving settlers in the hope they could tell them what had happened.

They approached the building which lay ahead that was obviously the town's meeting hall, a low fab-wood and brick construction with a flat roof and the only double door they'd seen. The silence of the square was eerily unnerving.

"We're being watched," Flynn's whispered.

"No shit," was Holi's whispered reply. "Koios. Are you getting this?"

RECIEVING LOUD AND CLEAR MY DEAR. I AM SENDING THE DATA BACK LIVE TO THE DEFENCE FLEET AS PER ORDERS. YOUR TARGET IS THE MAIN BUILDING, ALL THE LIVING CONGREGATED THERE UPON OUR LANDING. IF THAT IS ALL, I SHALL AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTION

"Thanks Koios"

I LIVE TO SERVE

He signed off with only a mild dose of his usual cheekiness.

The three continued on up to the door of the hall and Astrid knocked gently against its viewing pane. Holi called to the people inside,

"Hello? We've come to help you. Is there anyone who can talk to us?" She kept her voice soft, trying not to spook the survivors. "We have food and medicine if you are in need?"

A small blonde head appeared at the window.

"Food?! We're pretty hungry. And Alis is sick! I dunno though, how do I know you won't hurt us?"

Holi showed the little boy her arm patch, removing it from her sleeve and holding it up for the child to see. "See this? Do you recognise it? We're the Empress' Guardians. It's our job to go wherever people are hurt or in need and do whatever we can to help. My name is Holi and this is Astrid and Flynn. May we come in please?"

He studied the hairy skull-with-fangs, recognition lighting his face at the symbol of safety Holi held. A few seconds later, the group heard a scraping noise as the door-bar was lifted.

Inside was cool and pleasant compared to the baking heat and dust of the town square. There was a podium for speeches and meetings at the back of the room. Wooden trestle tables and benches sat on one side of the open area and the other had a makeshift tented sleeping area with pads, blankets and cushions.

Flynn quietly pointed out a mezzanine level where more children were peeking out, wide-eyed. He knelt on the floor in front of the boy and held out his hand.

"Hi buddy, I'm Flynn, what should I call you?"

"I'm Maxie," the boy said, shyly placing his small hand in Flynn's extra-large one. "Have you got food and medicine like you said?"

Astrid dumped her go bag next to Flynn and returned to the pod to make arrangements for a relief team to come and take charge of the abandoned children, saying goodbye as she left. Holi and Flynn immediately began emptying the bags they'd stuffed with food and medical supplies and the children began streaming down the stairs.

They were all gaunt and some were obviously becoming ill from malnourishment. It wasn't long before all the children were happily filling their bellies and Holi had begun triaging their medical needs. There were a few with infections, cuts and scrapes. It was good that the girl Alis would recover in time from her blood poisoning with medication and proper nutrition however, Holi was dismayed that there didn't seem to be any adults present. The lack of damage was playing on her mind as well. Where were the adults?

She saw Flynn was talking to Maxie with a sympathetic frown on his face. A few moments later, Flynn said something that made the boy smile before running off to eat with the other children. The plight of these kids was heartbreaking, drawing even Flynn out of his usually stoic demeanour. She finished handing out food and waved him over; curious about the conversation the two had shared.

Flynn's face was dark.

"Damn Holi, they've been on their own for weeks! It's the weirdest story, maybe because they're kids and they don't really understand what's happened. Maxie said they were in here having their lessons when a bright light appeared. The teacher sent them down to the cellar to hide and went outside to see what was happening.

When she didn't come back after a while, Maxie went outside with a couple of the other kids and searched everywhere, but they found no adults - they were just gone.

They've been alone here ever since, scrounging around for food and hiding. Maxie is eleven and he's one of the eldest.

We have to fix this, find their parents and bring them home!"

His eyes gleamed yellow for a moment, testifying to the strength of his emotion. Holi patted his arm, sharing his anger at the plight of these innocent children.

"We will Flynn. No worries on that score." The need to make this right immediately was strong for Holi. She had once been alone like them, but like Flynn, she kept it locked down. The kids needed to see kindness right now so they would save it for when they found the perpetrators.

"What if, ...you know." He mumbled, hesitating to talk about the possible deaths of the missing adults in case the kids heard.

"Then we make sure it _never_ happens again," Holi said, making the vow to bring justice for these people in whatever form was required. They got back to caring for the children while they waited for the relief team to reach them.

The next morning saw the arrival of the ship which had been sent to retrieve the children landed. The defence plans for these communities may have failed but children had been found in hidey-holes on many of the settled asteroids. The units E.I.'s had sent the information and requests for assistance back to the border fleet and the situation had been deemed dire enough to warrant a ship with gate capabilities.

When it was time to leave, the children were scared and upset to be leaving the Guardians who had saved them, Maxie was especially heartbroken until Flynn removed his Guardian patch and asked the boy to take care of it until he returned, hugging him tightly. He had grown extremely fond of the brave boy in the short time since they met.

The children were soon on their way to the safety of the Etheric Academy, where they could be cared for en-masse. The squads' updated orders were to follow the evidence - the radiation trails leading away from the now-empty settlements and find the missing adults and those responsible.

Holi, Flynn and Astrid were just fine with those orders.

It was time to go to war.


End file.
